WINE WISDOM: The rewards of aging your wine

By Mark Vincent, Daily News Correspondent

Tuesday

May 1, 2018 at 3:49 PMMay 1, 2018 at 3:49 PM

As this wine column approaches its eleventh year, I’m privileged to write about wines each month. Folks often ask me what it’s like to be a wine writer. Frankly, it’s a bit of work, a lot of fun and it has its perks. I get invited to tasting and dinner events - range from good to incredible - regularly. I sample a lot of wines, a pleasure since most wines today are pretty good and there are an increasing number of stand-out wines available today.

People ask about the wines I like, where I get them and what wines I drink regularly. I’m often asked what my favorite wine is, a difficult question for me to answer. Having been accused of never meeting a grape I didn’t like, I love so many and clearly, there’s no ONE.

What I enjoy most is that the world of wine is a world of adventure. If you’re drinking decent wine, there’s usually excitement in every glass, no matter what wine is in that glass. Wines are like people in that, if you give them a chance, they not only make you content, they can surprise and delight you.

I admire Europeans, who historically are more wine savvy, having been exposed to wine early and grown up with it. Brits were ravish admirers of French wines and stocked their cellars with it, allowing wines time to mature and come into their own.

Clearly, that is something we don’t have to do today, as most modern wines are typically ready to drink immediately. Sure, there are rare exceptions, where the wine needs time for the tannins to mellow over 5-10 years or more. However, that’s the exception today rather than the norm, as it was many decades ago.

That said, I’ve learned to appreciate well-made, older wines that have matured. Over time, the tannins mellow and all the elements of the wine integrate into one harmonious delight. The wine becomes silky smooth, lushly supple and deliciously good.

Recently, friends and I celebrated someone’s birthday over dinner at a BYOB establishment. I brought three bottles of wine to the gathering.

We began with a bottle of Ruinart Brut Rose Champagne ($84). Now I’m a huge fan of Champagne and, to that extent, I frequently speculate whether to advocate everyone should drink a little every day. Yet I’m not the biggest fan of rose Champagnes, a personal idiosyncrasy. The Ruinart from a Champagne House operating since 1727, of course, was an exception to that, thrilling everyone, including me.

The birthday guy’s girlfriend had purchased the bottle three or four years previously. Yes, you can open a bottle of most Champagnes immediately, but I find 3-4 years of time often does wonders for it. This bottle proved that and also left me believing there few better ways of telling someone, “I love you” than opening a bottle of Ruinart Brut Rose for them.

With the last drop of Champagne consumed, I poured a 2005 Sebastiani Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($29) I bought over a decade ago. It was a huge hit with everyone for its smooth, rich tannin and black fruit flavors. Suggestions on this wine at purchase were to drink it between 2008 and 2012. Could it have been better then? Possibly, but it was completely wonderful, even now.

Sebastiani, founded in Sonoma in 1904, still makes excellent wines capable of both aging and providing great value.

Next up was the bit more upscale 2007 Jordan Alexander Valley Cabernet ($106) from one of my favorite CA wineries. It’s silky-smooth tannins and cassis and blackberry flavors won us all over instantly. Remarkably it would still be drinkable for another 5-8 years.

We capped off the night with a totally exquisite, 2011 Silver Oak Napa Cabernet ($129) that demonstrated why winemaker Daniel Baron, who retired in 2016, is a wine genius. Its perfect balance and succulent red and black fruit completely won us over. Sure, I could have stored it until 2029, but I couldn’t wait - a great choice.

If you love wine, here are two thoughts from this. Splurge once in awhile, some occasions demand it. Second, aging some wines a bit will reward your palate.

Mark P. Vincent is a Worcester resident who has a passion for wine. Contact him at winewisdom@yahoo.com.